All The Ways I Love You
by KnoxMare
Summary: The first time Arthur told Merlin he loved him, he whispered it in the middle of the night while he pulled Merlin closer, so quietly that Merlin thought he must have dreamed it.


**Merlin/Arthur from BBC Merlin. This was a present for my friend Bella on her birthday. She gave me the first sentence as a prompt, and I took it from there!**

**XXXXX**

The first time Arthur told Merlin he loved him, he whispered it in the middle of the night while he pulled Merlin closer, so quietly that Merlin thought he must have dreamed it. They were wrapped in the sumptuous furs Arthur insisted be thrown across his bed in the wintertime, and Merlin couldn't say he was complaining. He was warm and satisfied, and on the brink of sleep.

Then Arthur, with his arms slung around Merlin's hips from behind him, had pressed his lips into his manservant's shoulder and whispered something against him. The first time he spoke it was so faintly Merlin had missed it.

"Hmm?" Merlin had murmured, so exhausted he was barely able to make it clear as a question.

Arthur had pulled him closer, and repeated himself.

Merlin hadn't been sure, but it had sounded like the Prince had said,

"I love you."

**XXXXX**

The three hundred and thirty-seventh time Arthur had said he loved Merlin was right before the opening tournament of the summer season.

Merlin had just finished fitting Arthur's armor properly to his body, being careful to latch every buckle and tie every knot. He was terrified of losing his Prince to some silly war game, but he knew that jousting and sparring and riding was in Arthur's blood. To ask him to stop would be a selfish request.

Merlin gave Arthur's shining plate and mail one final glance before standing directly in front of his prince and pulling him into a crushing kiss. There were three other knights and their servants in the tent, but Merlin didn't care.

Besides, it was only Lancelot, Gwaine and Leon, and they all knew. Almost everyone in the castle knew about Arthur and Merlin. Well, everyone but Uther. Everyone agreed that letting Uther in on this particular secret wasn't the wisest of ideas.

When they pulled apart, Arthur looked directly into Merlin's cobalt eyes and cupped his sharp cheeks.

"I love you," he said, before grabbing his sword and striding out of the tent into the sunlight.

The two thousand eight hundred and sixty-fifth time Arthur said he loved his manservant he was just about to come; sweaty and groaning, and so full of love for the man he was cradled against.

They were dirty, and tired, and had been out on a border patrol for three weeks, but neither of them was complaining or cared. They were together.

"Merlin, don't stop," he murmured, so close to completion, feeling every stroke of Merlin's cock against his prostate. He wished he could stay like this forever; Merlin buried in him, chest to chest, hands everywhere, his mouth on Merlin's collarbone, Merlin's hands on his cock.

And then stars burst behind his eyelids, and he forced his eyes open so he could look into Merlin's as they both came with immense force.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried out, collapsing into his prince.

"Merlin," Arthur said just as loud, uncaring whether someone could hear, "love you. Love you so fucking much."

And with that they both melted into one another, boneless and satisfied, and full of a love that burned like an insatiable fire.

**XXXXX**

The five thousand and sixth time Arthur told Merlin he loved him, it was a blissful reassurance to the man he loved. Merlin had been worrying for weeks that if he finally revealed to Arthur the secret he had been hiding his whole life, he would be pushed away and banished, if not turned into Uther.

He never should have doubted Arthur's love, for when he pulled away from Arthur's post-coital embrace, swung out of bed, threw out his hand and murmured the words that would make his eyes glow golden with power and levitate every object of furniture in the room, all Arthur had to say was,

"You can do magic and you _still_ manage to fail at all of your duties?"

Merlin was shocked at Arthur's cavalier response, and looked at him with a mixture of incredulity and fear in his eyes. All Arthur had to say to that was,

"Do you mind putting the bed down? You're rocking it, and I'm getting a little sea-sick."

Merlin immediately lowered all of the furniture, bed included, and stared, openmouthed, at the prince.

"Merlin, you look like a fish. Stop gaping and come back to bed. The sheets are going cold and you're like my own personal little brazier."

"But… you're not… what?" Merlin stammered, unable to believe that Arthur had just reacted to the biggest secret he possessed as if it was the dinner menu.

Arthur sighed.

"_Mer_lin. Did you really think I would betray you? So what, you have magic. A lot of people do. I'm not my father; you know that. You also know, and are the reason, that I've come to accept that magic isn't always evil. And now I see exactly why you've always wanted me to think that. But I really don't care that you have magic. In fact, it could be useful to the kingdom."

Merlin was still a bit wary.

"But, Arthur, aren't you upset that I've hidden this from you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and reached up to grab Merlin around the waist, causing him to tumble back into the bed. He pulled him close and said,

"Merlin, I know why you hid it. Had you revealed it when you first came, you would have been killed, no question about it. In fact, I am rather grateful that you didn't reveal it until now, because that would mean I wouldn't get thoroughly fucked by the most beautiful man in the kingdom every night."

Merlin couldn't help but laugh at that. Arthur continued, with a smile on his face.

"Merlin, I wouldn't care if you were a troll transformed into a man; I love you."

Merlin snuggled into Arthur, warmed by the love of his life and by his reaction. Then Arthur had a thought.

"Wait. You _aren't_ a troll, right? I mean, that's not the reason you could tell what Katrina was? Ew, you **are** a troll! You're a great ugly troll! All trolls are in a big troll club, aren't they, and they can spot other troll members from a mile off!"

At this point Merlin, trying to look thoroughly affronted, whacked his prince upside the head and said, in a completely disgusted tone,

"I am _not_ a troll. But I am probably capable of turning you into one. How do you think Camelot would like a troll prince, hmm?"

Before he could do anything, Arthur pulled him down into a smiling kiss, and pulled him close.

**XXXXX**

The forty thousand five hundred and eighty-third time Arthur told Merlin he loved him, he was bleeding on a battlefield, clinging to life.

They had marched against Morgause and Morgana early that morning, when the mist was still kissing the dew on the endless grasses of the field, and the sun was barely up. It was such a painfully beautiful scene that Merlin had felt guilty about ruining it for a moment, but then he remembered what Morgause had done to Ealdor, and felt no more guilt. He had gone back to preparing his elaborate spells without a thought.

Arthur had made the decision to use Merlin, and several others of the few sorcerers still loyal to Camelot, in their battle strategy. Uther's health was failing, and Arthur had all but taken over every aspect of ruling the kingdom, and he felt his authority was enough. Besides, all of his command knew about Merlin's power, and were willing to follow his orders.

The battle had turned into a slaughter of Morgause and Morgana's men. Despite the protections they had placed around their army, the sorceress' troops were no match for Merlin. In order to hide the identity of the powerful sorcerer on Camelot's side, Arthur had decided that Merlin would not face Morgause and Morgana directly, at least not for now, and he went against them with two of the Druids who were fighting for Camelot.

The sisters killed the Druids, but Arthur had managed to kill Morgause with an arrow enchanted specially by Merlin. The last thing he had heard before he blacked out from pain was Morgana's heartbreaking scream of sorrow.

Morgana's raw power, born of her anguish, had slashed massive, messy wounds along Arthur's body, and it was all his men could do to get him back to Merlin in one piece. With Gaius back at Camelot, Merlin was the only healer they had, but his love for Arthur, coupled with his own exhaustion, was making him shaky and unpredictable.

Merlin looked down at the love of his life with tears in his eyes.

"Arthur, what if I can't fix this? What if she's killed you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, which proved quite painful seeing as he had a splinter of arrow shaft in one of them.

"Merlin," he croaked, "if you can't fix me, then that will only prove to me then I'm a frog prince. Now get on with it, you clotpole."

Merlin smiled shakily, and managed to speak past the lump in his throat,

"But, Arthur, you _are_ a frog prince."

Their eyes met, and they both smiled. Then Merlin raised his hand out to start his weaving spells, but before he could speak, Arthur said, while closing his eyes,

"I know she's done so much to us, but the one thing I keep thinking about is that I only wish Morgana could forgive me for killing Morgause."

Anyone else would have been shocked by what Arthur had said, but Merlin just couldn't bring himself to be. He had seen this kind of shameless compassion in Arthur before. And it was one of the reasons he knew, deep in his heart, that Arthur would be one of the best kings the world would ever see.

"I love you, Arthur, do you know that?"

"Of course I do, you prat. I love you too."

**XXXXX**

The sixty thousand seven hundred and fourth time Arthur told Merlin he loved him, Merlin was standing in front of the throne in the richly decorated throne room, watching Arthur kneel in front of the man who was about to place the crown of Camelot on his blonde head. It was Arthur's coronation, a day Merlin had been waiting for ever since the Great Dragon had told him that he and Arthur were destined to bring Albion together and that Arthur was the Once and Future King. Merlin still wasn't sure what the whole 'once and future' part meant, but the King part was happening right in front of him.

Uther had passed away in the early morning four weeks before. There had been a public funeral, but no type of grand celebration. Even Arthur had realized that no one was going to want to have parades in his father's honor after all he had done. Plans for Arthur's coronation and official marriage were put into motion, and the whole castle had been moving non-stop for the past month.

Merlin looked over Arthur's head at Gwen, who was kneeling on Arthur's other side. She was about to be officially crowned Queen of Camelot. Merlin, Arthur, and Gwen had discussed what would happen when Uther died many times over the years, and they had all come to this decision. Despite the fact that almost everyone knew or suspected that Arthur and Merlin were in love, Camelot still needed a Queen to produce heirs. Gwen was thoroughly in love with Morgana, as she had been even before she had left, but she wasn't averse to "being the Queen" and carrying Arthur's children.

Morgana was harder to convince, but that was mostly because she was still wary around everyone but Gwen and Gaius after Morgauses' spell broke. It turned out that the only reason she had betrayed Arthur and aligned with Morgause was an elaborate spell cast by the much more experienced sorceress, and when Arthur killed Morgause on the battlefield, Morgana had come rushing back into herself after the initial shock and realized what she had done.

She still hadn't fully forgiven Arthur for killing Morgause, or Merlin for poisoning her, but she loved Gwen, and trusted Gaius, and knew what was best for Camelot.

And that was how Merlin came to be standing next to a kneeling Arthur and Gwen, looking down on them with all the love he had for the two of them shining brightly in his eyes.

He glanced over to the cushion next to the Bishop, and was shocked to see that it had not two, but three crowns on it, and that a Druid elder was standing next to the throne as well. He looked around wildly, confused, and caught Gaius' eye. The old man merely smiled, and motioned for him to kneel as well. He looked down and saw that there was a third cushion in front of him.

He looked at Arthur, confused, and the love of his life simply smirked at him and nodded, mouthing

"Sit, you idiot."

The Bishop went through the coronation rites, and crowed King Arthur Pendragon and Queen Guinevere Pendragon, and then he stepped back. Merlin was still confused when the Druid Elder stepped in front of his cushion holding a silver circlet in his hands. Then the man spoke.

"Merlin, you are the prophesized one, the one the Druid's have waited for. You are the beloved of your king and people, and you are the one who will unite Albion. You are the Last Dragonlord. You are to be crowned, alongside your king and queen, as a Druid _R__í__. _You will be known in our histories as Rí Myrddin Emrys."

With that, he placed the silver circlet on Merlin's head. Merlin was so shocked he didn't know what to do, and he just stood there as the room erupted into applause and cheers. When Arthur grabbed his sleeve and pulled him up, he stumbled to his feet, and stood next to the King and Queen, stunned, and looked out onto the faces of his friends; Leon, Lance, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Morgana, Gaius. They were all the family he had left, and he burst into highly un-_R__í_-like tears at the sight of them all.

He turned to look at Arthur, who, when he saw him crying, put both hands on the side of his face and brushed away all the tears. He stared deeply into Merlin's eyes, and Merlin saw the tears building up in his King's eyes. They both stared for almost a minute before bursting out laughing at the sight of each other, and, smiling, kissed.

Holding him tighter than was probably necessary, Merlin whispered into his King's ear,

"I hate you, you know that, right? I absolutely hate you, you massive, enormous, prat."

Arthur just held him just as tightly and whispered right back,

"I love you too, Merlin."

**THE END**


End file.
